Question

Identify a social entrepreneur/business. Discuss the social mission they seek to achieve or are achieving. Explain why their efforts are considered social entrepreneurism. Provide a link to their site/mission.

Answer 1

"Grameen Bank" which was founded by Muhammad Yunus in Bangladesh is one of the well know social business. Prof. Yunus was awarded Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts and making life easier for thousands of Bangladeshi people who were not able to avail credit from bank so that they can start their own business.

The aim of this business is to reverse the conventional banking practice by eliminating the need of collateral while taking credit. Generally banks ask for collateral from people seeking loan as guarantee without which the banks do not lend, same was the situation in Bangladesh where people needed very small amount of money to start some kind of small business and earn their livelihood but they were unable to get it.

Prof Yunus who was a professor of Economics at Chittagong University saw this problem and tried to solve it with concepts of micro credit and micro finance.

With his Grameen Bank he started lending people very small amount of money such as 1000 Taka without any collateral or security, the lending was completely based on mutual trust, accountability and creativity.

People borrow small amount of money from Grameen Bank to start their business and they start paying it back to the bank in small instalments.

Grameen Bank was founded to help the needy and poorest of the poor strata of society who wanted to work and establish some small business but they did not had money to do so, the bank has currently 8.93 Million borrowers and the bank covers 97% of the Bangladeshi villages, the business is achieving social mission on which it was founded upon.

The efforts are considered to be social entrepreneurism because the primary objective of this business is to help poor and needy people by providing them with credit, profit earning is secondary.